Garment-clasp.



Patented July19, 1910.

W. P. HANNAFORD. GARMENT CLASP. APPLICATION FILED rmzv. 1908. 964,968.

UNITED STATES PATENT oEEIoE.

WILLIAM IE. I-IANNAFORD, OLE NEWTON, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNO-R TO THECLARK MANUFACTURING COMPANY, OF BOSTO NEW JERSEY.

N, MASSACHUSETTS, A CORPORATION OF GARMENT-CLASP.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 19, 1910.

Application filed February 27, 1908. Serial No. 418,015.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM P. HANNA- FORD, a citizen of the UnitedStates, and resident of Newton, county of Middlesex, State ofMassachusetts, have invented an Improvement in Garment-Clasps, of whichthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawing,is a specification, like letters on the drawing representing like )arts.1 This invention relates to clasps for hose or other garments adapted tobe attached to an elastic strap or web, and the invention has for itsobject the production of improved and eflicient means for attaching theclasp to the webbing.

My invention is particularly adapted for use in connection with agarment clasp of the general character shown and described in UnitedStates Patent No. 630034 granted to B. G. Clark, August 1, 1899 whereintwo relatively movable clamping members are connected at their innerends, the opening and closing of the outer ends of such members beinggoverned by suitable manually operated means. In that patent the elasticstrap or web is attached to one member at its inner end and extendedalong its outer face or back and around its free end, forming at thelatter point a yielding surface or grip, and the back of the clasp isalso covered or protected so that the metal will not contact with theflesh of the wearer or with adjacent garments. This construction isobjectionable in that wide and heavy webbing must be carried throughslots or openings in the clasp, resulting in crinkling or warping thewebbing for a considerable distance from the clasp; necessitatingvarious adjustments of the latter, and producing a somewhat unsightlyand undesirable bunching of the webbing at the points where it is drawnthrough the clasp.

In my present invention I make the covering strip of fabric separatefrom the webbing, and of such a width that it will properly cover theback of the member of the clasp to which it is applied, and of apredetermined thickness, irrespective of the width or thick ness of theelastic web or strap which is attached to the clasp. By so doing theclasps are uniformly adjusted to close on a covering fabric always ofthe same width and thickness, whereas heretofore the covering materialhas varied from a light weight, five-eighths inch webbing to an inch andthree-eighths wide heavy webbing, so that the adjustment of the clasphad to be made accordingly. If the jaws or clamping portions of theclasp were adjusted to close tightly with a firm grip, using the light,narrower webbing there would be a tendency to spring the jaws if theheavier webbing were used. On the other hand if the clasp was adjustedfor the heavier webbing there was the grave danger that there would beno holding power or grip if the lighter webbing was used. In my presentinvention this objectionable feature is wholly eliminated, for as thecovering strip is separate from the elastic web it is immaterial whetherthe latter be wide or narrow, thick or thin, so far as the adjustment ofthe clasp is concerned, the adjustment being made for a covering fabricof uniform thickness, and it is of such width that it covers the back ofthe clasp properly without any bunch-ing or improper fullness. Thiscovering strip is preferably made of inelastic fabric,'thereby reducingthe expense, and the inner end of such fabric is attached to the web bythe same fastening means as connects the web with the clasp,facilitating assembling and again reducing the cost of manufacture.

I-Ieretofore, in applying the broad webbing to clasps of the generaltype herein illustrated it was necessary to pull it through slots in theback plate of the clasp in order to attain the covering feature, andthis caused the webbing to crinkle or warp for some distance away fromthe clasp, imparting a crumpled appearance instead of lying flat andsmooth, but this is overcome in my present invention so that the elasticweb lies flat and smooth.

These and other novel features of my invention will be fully describedin the subjoined specification and particularly pointed out in thefollowing claim.

Figure l is a side elevation of a clasp embodying one form of my presentinvention, the clamping members or jaws being open; Fig. 2 is anunderside view of the clasp, showing the wide elastic webbing and thenarrow covering strip of fabric; Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the clasp,closed, with the attached webbing and covered strip; Fig. 4L is alongitudinal section taken through the center of the back plate and itsloop, showing the manner in which the webbing is attached to the loopand the narrow covering strip to the webbing; Fig. 5 is a top plan viewof the back plate of the clasp with the loop integral therewith.

Referring to 'Fig. l the clasp is shown as comprising a back plate orclamping member at having opposite ears a, the cooperating clampingmember 6 pivotally connected at b to the plate a at its inner end, themember 6 having at its free end a transverse holding lip 6 and alongitudinally curved bearing portion 7), all as in the Clark patentreferred to.

The member a is provided at its outer end with an upturned lip a theouter op posed ends of members a and b forming clamping jaws to engagebetween them the garment or other object to be held, a lock ing lever clbeing pivotally mounted on the cars a and having a rearwardly bent lug(Z which cooperates with the concave face of the part b of the clampingmember b, as in said patent, movement of the lever d to the left Fig. 1,into the position shown in Fig. 3 closing the jaws. At such time thespring tongue a of the member a is flexed and the lug 6Z3 is then sopositioned that the lever (55 is held in closed position, as will beunderstood. The plate a is provided with transverse slots 1 and 2 nearits outer and inner ends respectively, and at the inner end the plate ais provided with a loop.

In Figs. 1 to 4 the loop 3 is shown as made of wire, and of a lengthconsiderably longer than the width of the clasp, said loop beingpivotally held in an eye #1 formed by turning over upon itself the innerend of the plate a, the loop being made of a length corresponding to thewidth of the elastic web or strap which is to be attached to it. I nowtake a strip of covering fabric 5, preferably inelastic, and ofsubstantially the width of the plate a, and insert one end through theslot 1 and beneath the plate, carrying the strip around the lip a andalong the back or under face of the plate a, and up through the slot 2,as shown, thereby holding the strip securely on the plate and retainingin place the loose end passed through the slot 1, and with the use of aminimum length of the strip or covering fabric. I thereby form a cushionor soft covering for the lip 12 to cooperate with the fabric of thestocking or other garment when the clamping members are closed, and alsoto cover the back of the plate a, but as the strip 5 is narrow it willnot bunch or pucker, and forms a neat and attractive part of the clasp.This covering strip will be uniform in thickness so that the adjustmentfor the clasp will be made correspondingly, and entirely independent ofthe width or thickness of the elastic web, as the latter will have noaction upon the clamping action or adjustment of the clasp. The innerend of the strip 5 is carried over the eye 4 and down through the loop3, as at 6, where it is attached to the elastic web 7, the latter beingbent to form a bight 8 embracing the loop, and the free end 6 of thestrip 5 is tucked into the bight, and held in place by stitching 9 whichalso closes the bight and connects the webbing with the loo 3.

rlny desired width of webbing used, as will be manifest, and it can beheavy or light, the webbing being permanently attached to the lightercovering strip 5 strung through the back plate of the clasp. Thisarrangement obviates the use of a double loop with independentfastenings for the webbing and the covering strip, and I find inpractice that by connecting the web bing and covering strip through thesingle loop, and stitching them together, distributes the strain betterand makes the device much stronger.

It will be seen that I completely obviate the necessity of pulling aheavy, wide piece of webbing through the necessarily narrow slots of theclasp, lessening labor in construction and avoiding crumpling andunequal stretching of the webbing, which cannot be avoided when thewebbing has to be pulled through narrower slots.

By using a light and relatively narrow fabric for the covering strip Ileave a greater space between the jaws of the clasp for receiving thestocking, corset binding, or other garment to which the clasp is to beattached, whereas the heavy webbing heretofore used has made a thickbunch around the jaw of the lower clamping member, lessening the jawopening and decreasing the effective space for receiving the material ofthe garment.

Instead of using a separate loop I may make the same integral with theplate a of the clasp, as shown in Fig. 5, by increasing its width at itsinner end, at 10, and providing an elongated and wider slot 11, therebyconstituting a loop integral with the plate and back of the narrow slot2.

The bight of the webbing is carried through the loop, as beforedescribed, and the end of the covering strip, after passing up throughthe slot 2 is passed down through the loop opening 11 and attached tothe webbing as has been described.

When the loop is made integral with the back plate of the clasp it mustbe made substantially for a given width of webbing, but

can be when a separate loop is used, as in Figs. 1

to 4:, the length of the loop can be adapted to the width of thewebbing, so that for any given size of back plate various widths ofwebbing can be readily used.

Various changes or modifications may be made in details withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of my invention as set forth in theannexed claim.

Having fully described my invention, What I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is A garment clasp comprising two relativelymovable clamping members connected at their inner ends,manually-operated means to govern the opening and closing of their outerends, one member having a transverse opening near each end and anelongated loop connected therewith at its inner end, a wide elastic webattached to the loop, and a narrow covering strip fabric attached to theback of said web adjacent the loop and passed frontward through the loopover the front of the clamping member and down through the adjacenttransverse opening thereof and thence extended along the back of saidclampin member and around the outer end thereo the outer end of thestrip passing through the transverse opening at the outer end of saidmember to the back of the latter between it and the overlying part ofthe strip.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification, inthe presence of two subscribing witnesses.

WILLIAM P. HANNAFORD.

Witnesses:

JOHN C. EDWARDS, THOMAS J. DRUMMOND.

